Builder Bob
SAWHORSE
The multileveled trailer park depicted in the picture is actaully a set that was used for an outdoor theather production. I do not recall where or who was involved, just that the picture created alot of comments on other BB's.
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No More MH/RV Parks
- Thread starter Alias
- Start date
Builder Bob
SAWHORSE
The multileveled trailer park depicted in the picture is actually a set that was used for an outdoor theather production. I do not recall where or who was involved, just that the picture created alot of comments on other BB's.
FredK
Gold Member
That pic was in France IIRC. We did a background change and put catcus around and send it up stairs when they were thinking about another park. Here we get the mobile/park model and then they want to add rooms around them. Heck they are selling in the upscale parks in the 160K range.
Frank
REGISTERED
I have worked those fires--Alias said:Bob -Manager was going to run extension cords across the park to power trailer.
I'm done, they don't pay me enough to deal with stupid (manager).
Sue, the high desert denizen
In one they had 3 single wide HUD homes fed off of a temporary power pole fed with daisy chained with 12-2 romex on the ground strung from one to the next, using the white and black for the two hot legs and the bare for neutral and ground. It "might" have been overloaded as there was an 18 inch wide track of mud through the snow along the cable.
In the other they had the permit on the tree and had placed the home and moved in prior to hooking up water, sewer, power, phone, placing the steps or stoning the driveway. Had a pallet leaded up by the door for steps and a kerosene heater for heat. After coming home from a party they went to bed and the smoke detector went off due to a malfunctioning heater and they took the battery out of it because it was keeping them up. 5 hours later the BF woke up and saw that there was soot all over and tried to carry out the malfunctioning heater without turning it off spreading flaming kerosene across the living room. He exited and they argued throughthe open escape window untill she quit arguing. Then he went next door to call the fire department. I buried the engine to the running boards about 100 yards short. Crew entered the open escape window using a 5 gallon bucket for a step and removed the woman from the trailer within 5-6 minutes of initial 911 call. We then put the fire out and left the trailer with the roof still on it with fire damage confined to 2 rooms, excluding the bedroom. She earned her Darwin.
mmmarvel
MODERATOR
Oh tooooo funny, just plain too funny - 'till she quit arguing' - rofl.Frank said:
Jobsaver
REGISTERED
People pull many of the same stunts trying to move into new conventional homes before permanent power is established, though, conventional homebuilding is better regulated (follow the money).
Mobile home parks in our ahj are subject to courtesy electrical inspections every time a new account is established with any of the three service providers in the area.
Though redundant, it gets us in the parks frequently to help moniter out-of-control violations from developing.
Mobile home parks in our ahj are subject to courtesy electrical inspections every time a new account is established with any of the three service providers in the area.
Though redundant, it gets us in the parks frequently to help moniter out-of-control violations from developing.
globe trekker
REGISTERED
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2009
- Messages
- 1,739
Frank stated:
.
That is just plain funny!
.
mark handler
SAWHORSE
Trailer parks slip through regulation gap
The Bakersfield Californian | Saturday, Jan 15 2011 10:00 PM
The next time you feel smothered by state regulations, head on over to central Bakersfield and get a load of the trailer parks strung along South Union Avenue like rotten teeth.
Trash everywhere, busted out windows, holes in floors, holes in ceilings, exposed wiring, no heat, no gas, leaking bathrooms, leaking roofs, bowed in walls and on and on.
And people live here. Yes, children too. Rents can be as high as $500 a month, not including utilities.
Describing these parks as "third world" seems quaint compared to the reality.
How, you ask yourself, can these conditions exist?
Apparently, mobile home parks fall into a gaping "donut hole" of regulation in California.
The State Department of Housing and Community Development is the only agency with regulatory jurisdiction over mobile home parks.
Considering it was 14 years between maintenance inspections at the notorious Oasis Village, where four people died last Sunday when their mobile home went up like a matchbook -- and even complaints sent to the state by the county about sewage surfacing in one unit, among other things, were lost in the shuffle -- I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the state's enforcement isn't exactly snare-drum-tight.
And yes, some of the folks who live here have their problems. Some are drug addicts and alcoholics. Several have criminal histories.
So this is not Mayberry. But if you're tempted to ignore the people who live here, thinking they have nothing to do with your clean-cut suburban life, think again.
Many, if not most, of these people live on taxpayer-funded benefits, welfare and Supplemental Security Income (Social Security disability).
That means you and I are paying to keep these South Union slums in business. And, of course, we pay again and again whenever the Bakersfield Fire Department or other local agency has to deal with emergencies like the recent fatal fire and two others last year at Oasis alone.
Personally, if I'm on the hook for all that I want to be sure the parks and their rental units are held to minimum safety standards.
Fire Chief Doug Greener agreed, but had no idea whether his department could feasibly add trailer and mobile home park inspections to its load. He suspected almost any kind of local enforcement, though, would be more stringent than what the state has provided.
"We'd definitely do a better job than that," he told me of the 14 years between inspections at Oasis.
His department does at least try to rattle the cages of park managers and owners when they see hazards. But they don't have citation authority.
To be fair, problems aren't always caused by owner/manager negligence. As I said, the people who rent here can be a risky bunch. Even diligent operators sometimes can't keep after the damage they may cause.
"That said, it's up to them (managers and owners) to fix things," Greener said.
Municipalities can take over enforcement from the state and some have. But some have given the burden back to the state, according to County Director of Engineering Services Chuck Lackey.
It was Lackey's people who went to Oasis Village last spring on a resident complaint about sewage surfacing in one unit, as well as no smoke detector and no window locks. When county workers tried to talk to park owner Baby Kurian, he told them they had no jurisdiction. Kurian did not return phone calls last week seeking comment on this story.
Lackey's people called the state with their concerns but Chris Anderson, chief of field operations for the State Housing and Community Development Codes and Standards Division, told me he has no record of that referral.
Lackey said the main problem with the county taking over inspection and enforcement of the parks is that they would still have to abide by state regulations, not local standards. And could only charge fees currently charged by the state.
"It could cost us significantly more than the revenues it would bring in."
Mobile home parks pay annual fees of $140 for their permit, plus $11 per space -- $4 of which goes to pay for maintenance inspections.
Yeah, that might be a little low considering there are about 240 mobile home parks in Kern. (The state, by the way, only inspected 21 of those parks in the last three years.)
OK, so maybe a takeover isn't in the fiscal cards.
But, I asked Greener and others, can't the various code enforcing agencies at least do a better job of sharing information?
Not only did the state have no information on the complaint sent by Kern's Engineering Services department last spring, they had no knowledge of the August 11 fire at Oasis, which torched another trailer, according to Greener.
And that's just at Oasis Village.
County records show another park up just up the road has been foreclosed on and the state has no clue. County Engineering Services apparently also visited that park and found substandard conditions.
Well, the state's Anderson said in a convoluted explanation, the county could order a substandard dwelling be fixed, but the state still is the only entity with permitting power.
After going round and round with him on what that meant, I concluded not much, the problems don't get fixed.
Anderson acknowledged that the best recourse for residents is to call his department, not Public Health, or Code Enforcement, or even the Fire Department for housing violations.
"We do a lot of work on education because we find that some counties and cities don't understand the jurisdictional issues and throw up their hands in disgust thinking there's nothing they can do," Anderson said.
Aside from encouraging local agencies to share information with the state, he said, park residents should call Housing and Community Development directly.
If their homes have holes in their floors, exposed wiring or other "unreasonable hazards," he said, the state will respond immediately.
But it's up to the residents to be proactive.
Hmm. Considering even county officials couldn't get action out of the state, it's hard to imagine that exceedingly poor people, many with mental or drug induced incapacities, are going to fare any better.
Seeing as how many of these folks are required to have representative payees (responsible individuals or organizations in cases where recipients aren't considered competent to deal with their own finances), I wondered if organizations such as Stewards Inc., which acts as a payee for 1,600 Social Security recipients in Kern, have an obligation to make sure their clients' housing is at least safe before forking over $500 a month in taxpayer benefits to landlords.
"That is a great struggle for us," Andre Gonzalez, Stewards executive director said. "We try to encourage them to live in safer, healthier environments. But ultimately, they're adults and it's up to them."
Here's a thought: Perhaps Gonzelez' workers could go to these parks, visit with their clients in the dilapidated trailers and, if not get them to move, at least provide them with information on how to contact the state. Or complain to the the state themselves, for that matter.
It can't be that hard to find a solution.
"People in the projects aren't allowed to live in these conditions," noted David Gonzalez, who volunteers with a number of substance abuse programs and works with people in the South Union trailer parks on a daily basis. "Everyone says they can't help or don't have jurisdiction, but ethically, they should poke their head in and see how things are."
Either that or we're saying we're OK with those four needless and horrific deaths of Jan. 9 and we're ready for more, maybe kids next time.
Opinions expressed in this column are those of Lois Henry, not The Bakersfield Californian. Her column appears Wednesdays and Sundays. Comment at http://www.bakersfield.com, call her at 395-7373 or e-mail lhenry@bakersfield.com
The Bakersfield Californian | Saturday, Jan 15 2011 10:00 PM
The next time you feel smothered by state regulations, head on over to central Bakersfield and get a load of the trailer parks strung along South Union Avenue like rotten teeth.
Trash everywhere, busted out windows, holes in floors, holes in ceilings, exposed wiring, no heat, no gas, leaking bathrooms, leaking roofs, bowed in walls and on and on.
And people live here. Yes, children too. Rents can be as high as $500 a month, not including utilities.
Describing these parks as "third world" seems quaint compared to the reality.
How, you ask yourself, can these conditions exist?
Apparently, mobile home parks fall into a gaping "donut hole" of regulation in California.
The State Department of Housing and Community Development is the only agency with regulatory jurisdiction over mobile home parks.
Considering it was 14 years between maintenance inspections at the notorious Oasis Village, where four people died last Sunday when their mobile home went up like a matchbook -- and even complaints sent to the state by the county about sewage surfacing in one unit, among other things, were lost in the shuffle -- I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the state's enforcement isn't exactly snare-drum-tight.
And yes, some of the folks who live here have their problems. Some are drug addicts and alcoholics. Several have criminal histories.
So this is not Mayberry. But if you're tempted to ignore the people who live here, thinking they have nothing to do with your clean-cut suburban life, think again.
Many, if not most, of these people live on taxpayer-funded benefits, welfare and Supplemental Security Income (Social Security disability).
That means you and I are paying to keep these South Union slums in business. And, of course, we pay again and again whenever the Bakersfield Fire Department or other local agency has to deal with emergencies like the recent fatal fire and two others last year at Oasis alone.
Personally, if I'm on the hook for all that I want to be sure the parks and their rental units are held to minimum safety standards.
Fire Chief Doug Greener agreed, but had no idea whether his department could feasibly add trailer and mobile home park inspections to its load. He suspected almost any kind of local enforcement, though, would be more stringent than what the state has provided.
"We'd definitely do a better job than that," he told me of the 14 years between inspections at Oasis.
His department does at least try to rattle the cages of park managers and owners when they see hazards. But they don't have citation authority.
To be fair, problems aren't always caused by owner/manager negligence. As I said, the people who rent here can be a risky bunch. Even diligent operators sometimes can't keep after the damage they may cause.
"That said, it's up to them (managers and owners) to fix things," Greener said.
Municipalities can take over enforcement from the state and some have. But some have given the burden back to the state, according to County Director of Engineering Services Chuck Lackey.
It was Lackey's people who went to Oasis Village last spring on a resident complaint about sewage surfacing in one unit, as well as no smoke detector and no window locks. When county workers tried to talk to park owner Baby Kurian, he told them they had no jurisdiction. Kurian did not return phone calls last week seeking comment on this story.
Lackey's people called the state with their concerns but Chris Anderson, chief of field operations for the State Housing and Community Development Codes and Standards Division, told me he has no record of that referral.
Lackey said the main problem with the county taking over inspection and enforcement of the parks is that they would still have to abide by state regulations, not local standards. And could only charge fees currently charged by the state.
"It could cost us significantly more than the revenues it would bring in."
Mobile home parks pay annual fees of $140 for their permit, plus $11 per space -- $4 of which goes to pay for maintenance inspections.
Yeah, that might be a little low considering there are about 240 mobile home parks in Kern. (The state, by the way, only inspected 21 of those parks in the last three years.)
OK, so maybe a takeover isn't in the fiscal cards.
But, I asked Greener and others, can't the various code enforcing agencies at least do a better job of sharing information?
Not only did the state have no information on the complaint sent by Kern's Engineering Services department last spring, they had no knowledge of the August 11 fire at Oasis, which torched another trailer, according to Greener.
And that's just at Oasis Village.
County records show another park up just up the road has been foreclosed on and the state has no clue. County Engineering Services apparently also visited that park and found substandard conditions.
Well, the state's Anderson said in a convoluted explanation, the county could order a substandard dwelling be fixed, but the state still is the only entity with permitting power.
After going round and round with him on what that meant, I concluded not much, the problems don't get fixed.
Anderson acknowledged that the best recourse for residents is to call his department, not Public Health, or Code Enforcement, or even the Fire Department for housing violations.
"We do a lot of work on education because we find that some counties and cities don't understand the jurisdictional issues and throw up their hands in disgust thinking there's nothing they can do," Anderson said.
Aside from encouraging local agencies to share information with the state, he said, park residents should call Housing and Community Development directly.
If their homes have holes in their floors, exposed wiring or other "unreasonable hazards," he said, the state will respond immediately.
But it's up to the residents to be proactive.
Hmm. Considering even county officials couldn't get action out of the state, it's hard to imagine that exceedingly poor people, many with mental or drug induced incapacities, are going to fare any better.
Seeing as how many of these folks are required to have representative payees (responsible individuals or organizations in cases where recipients aren't considered competent to deal with their own finances), I wondered if organizations such as Stewards Inc., which acts as a payee for 1,600 Social Security recipients in Kern, have an obligation to make sure their clients' housing is at least safe before forking over $500 a month in taxpayer benefits to landlords.
"That is a great struggle for us," Andre Gonzalez, Stewards executive director said. "We try to encourage them to live in safer, healthier environments. But ultimately, they're adults and it's up to them."
Here's a thought: Perhaps Gonzelez' workers could go to these parks, visit with their clients in the dilapidated trailers and, if not get them to move, at least provide them with information on how to contact the state. Or complain to the the state themselves, for that matter.
It can't be that hard to find a solution.
"People in the projects aren't allowed to live in these conditions," noted David Gonzalez, who volunteers with a number of substance abuse programs and works with people in the South Union trailer parks on a daily basis. "Everyone says they can't help or don't have jurisdiction, but ethically, they should poke their head in and see how things are."
Either that or we're saying we're OK with those four needless and horrific deaths of Jan. 9 and we're ready for more, maybe kids next time.
Opinions expressed in this column are those of Lois Henry, not The Bakersfield Californian. Her column appears Wednesdays and Sundays. Comment at http://www.bakersfield.com, call her at 395-7373 or e-mail lhenry@bakersfield.com
You can find fault anywhere,
All you have to do is pick your favorite target. The south side of Chicago is the largest slum in the country; and it consists of high rise government funded brick buildings.
They don't have mobile homes; just decades of government subsidized horror stories.
High rise brick buildings; where the plumbing doesn't work, broken windows and doors (if you still have a door); and, the electric is sporadic; and murder, rape and robbery is considered the norm. If you want to inspect these buildings you better wear a flack jacket and steel helmet.
Chicago has the regulations and still can't correct the problems. The government owns and/or subsidizes the worst maintained housing in this country; and it's not fit for human habitation; and, your looking to the government to solve the problem !?
It's not the type of structure; it's the failure of the political system.
Good Grief,
Uncle Bob
All you have to do is pick your favorite target. The south side of Chicago is the largest slum in the country; and it consists of high rise government funded brick buildings.
They don't have mobile homes; just decades of government subsidized horror stories.
High rise brick buildings; where the plumbing doesn't work, broken windows and doors (if you still have a door); and, the electric is sporadic; and murder, rape and robbery is considered the norm. If you want to inspect these buildings you better wear a flack jacket and steel helmet.
Chicago has the regulations and still can't correct the problems. The government owns and/or subsidizes the worst maintained housing in this country; and it's not fit for human habitation; and, your looking to the government to solve the problem !?
It's not the type of structure; it's the failure of the political system.
Good Grief,
Uncle Bob
Last edited by a moderator:
Sue,
What have you got against "affordability" anyway?
I think we should all take a tour down to Rio or Sao Paolo for an eye-opener.
It has been said by those who study this stuff that over half the housing on the planet will soon be "shanty" types that ring those mega-cities like Rio, Lagos, Manila, Mexico, etc.
BTW, see the movie "Winter's Bone" for a look at what much of my county/area of residnece looks like.
What have you got against "affordability" anyway?
I think we should all take a tour down to Rio or Sao Paolo for an eye-opener.
It has been said by those who study this stuff that over half the housing on the planet will soon be "shanty" types that ring those mega-cities like Rio, Lagos, Manila, Mexico, etc.
BTW, see the movie "Winter's Bone" for a look at what much of my county/area of residnece looks like.
mmmarvel
MODERATOR
UB - a friend of mine was offered a special inspector job in Chicago (he's a CWI as well as several other special inspector certs). He flew out there to look around, at the site, get a feel for the company, etc. They showed him what would be his on-site office, he said it was nice but he was more interested in how the job was going, what equipment (harness, etc) would be supplied so he could do his inspections. "Oh, no" he was informed, "You don't go out to look, we just bring you in the paperwork and you sign it." He took a pass on that job - the scary part is, you KNOW someone DID take that job.
Yikes
SAWHORSE
mark, I hate to admit it, but I think the place in your picture is actually really interesting. Where is that?
Alias
REGISTERED
Jim -jim baird said:
"Affordability" is one thing, collapsing floors and ceilings, unsafe utilities, and MHs plugged into 50 Amp RV pedestals are a whole 'nother matter.
Then you add owners and managers that are a$$es, you get the picture.....................
Sue, done with the headaches